Iron is the Man

Iron Man is one a movie that I respect the heck out of because a studio has finally realized to leave comic book characters in the hands of capable and inspired directors. This is the case here with Jon Favreau. He is a bona fide Iron Man comic book reader. This no different than Sam Raimi's love of Spider-Man. These are two franchises that will continue to bloom and entertain because there is great care. We have all seen the destruction of what happens when a studio goes for a quick cash grab like X-Men: The Last Stand and the abysmal Batman and Robin. Iron Man has the chance to be a great story and it is off to a terrific start in one of the better origin stories.

Tony Stark is a womanizing alcoholic who happens to be a brilliant weapons designer. He is also the worlds largest jerk and needs to be kidnapped by terrorists to be given a dose of reality. That is why Robert Downey Jr. is perfect for the role. His own demons clearly come out in the character of Stark and his road to redemption is similar.

Pepper Potts is played by Gwenyth Paltrow and she is perfect has is Tony's "Money Penny." The "love story" isn't over the top and truly understated as it should be. This role is a departure for Paltrow and makes her likable among the "fan boys" who love this stuff. I loved their relationship because she plays Tony's babysitter, yet she knows his dark secrets and accepts his faults.

There are so many things to appreciate in Iron Man. It was thoroughly enjoyable to see Tony Stark creating the Mark 1 in Afghanistan and then using it to escape. During this scene we learn that Stark, although brilliant, is naive and not as smart as we had previously given him credit for being. His weapons are being sold to the enemy and the entire time he thought he was protecting his country. His true enemy is capitalism and he must decide on what is important upon is return to the United States. Does he protect those who need protecting or does he turn away and cash check after check? I also like that Iron Man is who he his. Unlike Spiderman or Peter Parker, Tony Stark isn't afraid to let the world know. He doest allow the villians to put a bulls eye on his chest. He calls himself out and lets the world know his true identity.

It is clear from the opening scenes of the movie who is true enemies are and although it is supposed to come as a big reveal at the end we are not that surprised. This does not detract from the movie, but the "secret" could have been more guarded.

Now for the suit. The birth Iron Man was so utterly fascinating that I could have watched an entire movie about how Tony Stark perfected its awesomeness. Yes, I said awesomeness. The Iron Man suit is so freakin' cool that it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. There are so many opportunities for Stark to use the suit and he does so in a bad-ass way time after time.

Frankl, I cannot wait to see where Iron Man is going to go. I hope Marvel doesn't ruin the franchise by trying to stuff too much alfalfa into this pita. The idea of cross-over films is an interesting idea, but be warned, there is more to the Tony Stark story that needs to be told uninterrupted.